Implementation:Cypress io Cypress Gulp Dev Task

Knowledge Sources	Cypress
Domains	Development, Build
Last Updated	2026-02-12 00:00 GMT

Overview

Concrete Gulp task for running the Cypress development environment with Vite dev servers and file watchers.

Description

The dev task (scripts/gulp/gulpfile.ts:L99-110) orchestrates the development workflow. It calls viteApp() and viteLaunchpad() (scripts/gulp/tasks/gulpVite.ts:L23-83) to start Vite dev servers, and startCypressWatch (scripts/gulp/tasks/gulpCypress.ts:L116-199) to launch the Cypress app with file watching.

Usage

Run gulp dev from the repository root to start the full development environment.

Code Reference

Source Location

• Repository: cypress-io/cypress
• Files:
  • gulpfile.js:L1-3 (entry point)
  • scripts/gulp/gulpfile.ts:L99-110 (dev task)
  • scripts/gulp/tasks/gulpVite.ts:L23-83 (viteApp, viteLaunchpad)
  • scripts/gulp/tasks/gulpCypress.ts:L116-199 (startCypressWatch)

Signature

// scripts/gulp/gulpfile.ts
exports.dev = gulp.series(
  'dev:watch',
  killExistingCypress,
  startCypressWatch
)

// scripts/gulp/tasks/gulpVite.ts
function viteApp(): Promise<void>      // Starts Vite dev server on port 3333
function viteLaunchpad(): Promise<void> // Starts Vite dev server on port 3001

Import

# From repo root
gulp dev
# or: npx gulp dev

I/O Contract

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Description
Source files	.ts/.vue/.tsx	Yes	Frontend and backend source files
CYPRESS_INTERNAL_VITE_DEV	env var	No	Enable Vite dev servers (default: true in dev)

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
Vite dev servers	processes	HMR-enabled dev servers on ports 3333 and 3001
Cypress app	Electron process	Running Cypress application in development mode
File watchers	processes	Automatic recompilation on file changes

Usage Examples

Starting Development

# Start full development environment
gulp dev

# Open Cypress in dev mode (alternative)
node scripts/cypress.js open --project /path/to/test-project

Related Pages

Implements Principle

• Principle:Cypress_io_Cypress_Development_Server